A variety of video machines exists in consumer households such as video cassette recorders, video compact discs players and digital video disc players.
When it comes to interactive game play, such machines are not utilized as their function is generally set up for the playing of movies or similar entertainment which requires simple continuous playing of the discs. The only interactive functions involve limited facilities to move through the media file by fast forward, rewind or similar.
When it comes to games, educational items or other more complicated interactive forms of entertainment, such devices are normally not utilized and instead specialized apparatus are used. Such specialized apparatus include personal computers, Sony Play Stations, X-Box or other similar apparatus. All such apparatus is specifically designed for more complicated interactive functions, multiplayer use and complex program game play. However, such machines are relatively expensive yet often contain a media player such as a disc drive that may often duplicate that in a household's existing DVD machine.
The difficulty with using a DVD machine or similar as a platform for a more complicated interactive form of entertainment such as a game is that the usual controls for a DVD machine such as fast forward, rewind, etc. are not functions that suit the operations of game in the use of the disc itself. It may prove very difficult to devise a game that can use such standard functions to provide an overall result.
A further difficulty in utilizing an existing DVD machine and an associated receiver such as a television set for a more complicated interactive game is that such standard apparatus are generally controlled by a single set of manual buttons on the device itself or, more frequently, by a single remote control. There is no accommodation of multiplayer control of a DVD machine. Even existing specialized game systems generally utilize direct cables between the control apparatus and the machine itself. Part of the reason for this is the difficulty an infrared system has in resolving near simultaneous transmission from multiple remote controls. A typical DVD machine upon receiving signals from two remote controls simultaneously will fail to resolve either until it eventually receives only a single signal. In anytime critical interactive game such a system will not reflect the first data transmission received but instead, merely the first non-conflicted data transmission.
The variety of problems has restricted the use of existing video machines such as DVD machines in providing anything other than entertainment in the standard method of movies or similar.